Commonly, a dental practice will hire a temporary dental assistant, hygienist or front-office staff to fill in briefly for employee sick days, when the practice’s needs have increased or for an employee’s long-term leave of absence. CDA Practice Support finds that many employers are still puzzled about the requirements when hiring, classifying and properly paying these short-term employees.

Recent polls and research suggest that 50-80 percent of resumes submitted by job applicants contain false or inaccurate information about the applicants’ job history or qualifications. Employers who are not already conducting careful reference checks may be more inclined to do so when faced with such an alarming statistic. Checking references is a small step in the hiring process that can provide significant value to employers.

Every employee’s employment life cycle ends eventually, whether due to resignation, retirement, termination or other reason. In the dental office, any employee who separates should do so in a structured and professional manner with minimum disruption to the patients, staff and practice. Still, depending on what triggers an employee’s departure, separation can be an awkward situation for employers to navigate. Such discomfort can be lessened if clear policies and practices are in place.

Employees miss work for myriad reasons, but what happens when an employee is a no-show and has not communicated with the employer about his or her absence? There are no telephone calls, emails or texts — the employee has made no contact of any kind with the employer. While this can be a frustrating situation, it is not a “free ticket” to terminating the employee.

An individual was arrested in California in March for false representation as a dental hygienist and for making false claims for health benefits. According to additional information CDA obtained, the individual worked without a license in several dental offices in Northern California before her arrest. CDA offers the following article as a reminder to dentists to include license verification as a best practice for hiring and ongoing personnel management.

For many years, dental practice owners have treated associates and some registered dental hygienists as independent contractors. Practice owners need to be aware of updates to California laws that specifically pertain to independent contractors and that these laws have increased the penalties for the misclassification of workers.

Gov. Jerry Brown on Oct. 14 signed into law Assembly Bill 1008. This statewide “ban-the-box” law generally bars employers with five or more employees from asking an applicant to disclose conviction information until the employer has made a conditional offer of employment. If an employer later decides to revoke the offer based on an individual's criminal history, the employer must undertake a procedure called the “fair chance” process.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on July 17 released a new Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Practice owners who are hiring or planning to hire employees soon may continue to use the current version of the Form I-9 or may choose to use the new version of the form through Sept. 16, but must begin using the updated Form I-9 beginning Monday, Sept. 18.

Many employers are choosing to hire third parties to conduct background checks on applicants who have been offered employment. In addition, depending on the nature of the position and essential job functions, employers are requesting reports about an applicant's driving and criminal record. As of July 1, under the Fair Employment and Housing Council, there are additional legal limits on employers obtaining and using this type of information.

Practice owners who have questions about dismissing a patient, giving a refund or terminating an employee are not alone. The Dentists Insurance Company reports these are the top three risk management issues facing dentists today. In fact, these issues make up the majority of calls received through the Risk Management Advice Line. Following are real-life calls and recommendations offered by TDIC RM analysts.

Skilled employees lead to improved efficiency, which in turn results in more productive workdays for everyone — and better outcomes for patients. Still, most practice owners probably understand that success depends on more than the skills and abilities employees bring with them. Setting staff up for success requires effective hiring and onboarding; proper training and resources; and ongoing, open communication.

Practice owners who are hiring or planning to hire new employees soon should use the newest version of the Employment Eligibility Verification, Form I-9. The new form clarifies several points of confusion for employees and employers and is designed to be easier to use.

For practice owners, hiring competent, qualified and properly licensed staff is a key responsibility. Should it be discovered that an employee is practicing without a license, there are serious repercussions for both the unlicensed employee and the practice owner, for example. However, sometimes the requirements as an employer are murky, and tasks associated with hiring can get pushed to the back burner.

Building an effective and cohesive dental team takes a concerted effort. It takes hard work, patience, courage and persistence, but if it is done right it can give a dental practice a competitive advantage, as some offices struggle to build cohesive teams.

Between the recruiting strategy, interviewing and training, there is a lot that goes into hiring a new employee in a dental practice. However, a key piece of the process happens before any of that. Developing a good job description happens even before a position is open. Every current employee should have an updated, accurate job description for their duties in the practice.

From the perspective of a practice owner, choosing a professional associate may be one of the most important decisions that dentist will ever make. This choice will affect the staff, the well being of the practice, and the welfare of the patients. Many practice owners decide to take on an associate with the goal to offer extended hours, gain clinical support and companionship, provide mentorship and allow for the sharing of ideas on complicated cases, work toward retirement and relieve the owner of some of the patient load and help grow the practice. But before any of that begins, an interview must take place.

Between developing a job description and salary, posting the job, screening resumes and setting up interviews, a lot goes into recruiting a new employee for a dental practice. For working relationships to be successful, both the employer and employee have to find the right match. To help determine the right match, CDA Practice Support has compiled five tips for what to look for in a candidate.

Employee discipline is one of the hardest, but necessary, components of practice ownership and employing staff. It's human nature to avoid confrontation. As a leader, it's important to set the ground rules from the first day of employment. Creating an atmosphere of collaboration, mutual respect and trust early on can reap long-term rewards for the employee, the dentist as the employer and ultimately the practice.

While working interviews may seem ideal, and many employers offer potential candidates the opportunity to work in their office and “show their stuff,” the process is more complex. Each candidate must be added to your payroll. You can provide them a check at the end of the workday, but in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor, they are each full-fledged employees and you must ensure that you are following appropriate employer obligations.